Brussels is revising a proposed tax aimed at generating extra revenue from large companies, including tech giants such as Apple, Meta, and Google, without directly naming them. According to six European officials interviewed by the Financial Times, the European Commission is adjusting the tax proposal, known as Core (Corporate Resource for Europe), to avoid giving the U.S. administration a reason to take retaliatory action. The tax is part of five new "own resources," meaning revenues directly deposited into the EU's common fund, expected to generate about 60 billion euros annually starting in 2028. In its current version, Core proposes an annual flat fee for all companies operating in the EU with revenue exceeding 100 million euros. The fee ranges from 100,000 to 750,000 euros annually, divided into four brackets based on revenue. The Commission expects about 6.8 billion euros annually from this. However, the highest bracket has no upper limit, meaning a company generating billions in revenue in Europe would pay the same flat fee as a company with 750 million euros in revenue. Only the largest firms would be eligible. Brussels plans to raise the thresholds and amounts for Core to target only the very large companies. Officials cited by the Financial Times see two advantages in this approach: generating more revenue from tech companies and sparing medium-sized European companies. Many member states oppose Core, arguing it would disadvantage their medium-sized companies compared to foreign competitors. By excluding them from the scheme, the Commission hopes to win over more capitals. A European official summarized the maneuver to the Financial Times: "Some capitals oppose a pure digital tax because they don't want to anger the Americans, and many others oppose Core. The solution is to expand [the tax] to cover almost all large companies." As currently planned, the new version would apply to all sectors, digital or not. Its precise details are still under discussion. A tax that affects all large companies, including European ones, is harder to characterize as discriminatory, which is what the United States criticizes about digital taxes. The European digital tax remains on hold. The EU had prepared a digital services tax across the 27 member states, but it was put on hold to make way for the 2021 OECD agreement, which required large multinationals to pay more taxes in the countries where they make their sales. Since Donald Trump's re-election in 2024, it has been blocked, and a European official describes it as "dead." Brussels does not want to revive its old proposal, however, as a tax targeting only the digital sector would have no chance of securing enough member states, out of fear of American retaliation. The EU continues to apply its rules on digital services while avoiding escalation with an American administration that has gone so far as to defend Elon Musk and X against the European Union. France, Italy, Spain, and Austria already apply their own digital services tax. These four countries are under U.S. investigations known as "Section 301," named after an article of the 1974 trade law that allows the United States to retaliate against foreign practices deemed unfair. These investigations could lead to retaliatory tariffs. Any changes to Core must be approved unanimously by the 27 member states. A Commission spokesperson said they are ready to help the European Council and the European Parliament find "an agreement on the new package of own resources this year," a package they consider "essential" to fund the common priorities of the next decade.